the Villainess they took for granted

Chapter 294: v3 Chapter 55: the rewards of victory II

When the ceremony finally ended, the nobles began dispersing.

Robert found Cassian afterward.

”Marquess.”

Cassian looked at him.

Robert grinned.

”That is considerably more impressive than my barony.”

Cassian’s mouth curved faintly.

”Perhaps.”

”You aren’t even impressed.”

”I have not had time to be.”

Robert laughed.

Alex joined them, shaking his head.

”I think we should all be grateful we survived long enough to complain about our titles.”

Gary nodded.

”I agree.”

Cassian looked at the three men.

There was something almost surreal about seeing them now.

They had all entered the King’s service under very different circumstances.

Now Robert was a baron.

Alex and Gary had been granted lordships.

And Cassian had just been elevated to a marquess.

They parted soon afterward.

Cassian remained in the palace for the rest of the afternoon, attending to the formal matters that followed his elevation.

There were documents to sign.

Officials to meet.

Details concerning Valmere that would need to be reviewed.

It was not until evening that he finally returned to his own residence in the capital.

The townhouse had been his for some time now, established on his second year of playing as Count of Almery. It was modest compared with the great residences of the older houses, but entirely suitable for a Count.

A fire had already been lit in the study.

On the desk lay the documents concerning Valmere, bearing the royal seal.

Cassian stopped before them.

He picked up the first.

The title was written clearly.

Marquess of Valmere.

He read it again.

There was something strange about seeing it.

He had once been a duke.

He knew what a noble title meant.

He knew what land meant.

What wealth meant.

What authority meant.

But this was different.

That life had been given to him by birth.

This one had been earned.

Every piece of it.

The title.

The land.

The King’s trust.

The position he now held.

None of it had existed five years ago.

Cassian slowly set the document down.

He was now a Marquess in the kingdom of Milicia.

His name was on the documents.

His seal would soon be used on correspondence.

His people would manage his estates.

There would be men who answered to him

A household that belonged to him.

It was a strange feeling.

Not entirely unfamiliar.

He had known privilege before.

But that had belonged to another life.

This was something he had built himself.

For a while, he simply stood there.

Then his thoughts drifted elsewhere.

Not toward the title.

Not toward Valmere.

Not even toward the future of Milicia.

Toward home.

Marian.

Five years and seven months.

That was how long he had been gone.

For most of those years, thinking about her had been something he could not afford to indulge.

There had always been something more immediate.

Survival.

The Arena.

His escape.

Becoming Carlo.

The succession.

The rebellion.

The war.

One necessity after another.

But now?

The fighting was over.

Lorenz was secure.

And Cassian had finally reached a position where he could act without depending entirely on someone else’s resources.

He could send people.

He could ask questions.

He could establish contacts beyond Milicia.

He could finally find out what had happened.

His chest tightened slightly.

Had Marian waited for him?

Had she believed him dead?

Had Adrian succeeded?

The possibility he had avoided thinking about for years returned now with painful clarity.

Perhaps she had married him.

Perhaps she had built another life.

Perhaps she had stopped waiting long ago.

Carlo closed his eyes briefly.

He did not know.

That was the problem.

He had spent five years and seven months imagining every possibility while knowing none of them.

But now he could find out.

And suddenly, the title on the desk seemed almost insignificant.

Marquess of Valmere.

A substantial title.

A substantial estate.

A position that could have satisfied almost anyone.

But Carlo had never been trying to build a life in Milicia.

Not truly.

He had been surviving.

Building.

Waiting.

Preparing for the day when he could finally return.

And now that day no longer seemed impossible.

He looked again at the royal seal.

For the first time, he allowed himself to consider what returning home might actually mean.

He had once been the Duke of Ashford.

If he returned, perhaps he could reclaim his name.

Perhaps he could not.

He did not know what had happened in the Empire during his absence.

He did not know who controlled Ashford now.

He did not know what had become of his family, his lands, or his position.

But strangely, those questions no longer frightened him as much as they once would have.

Because he had something else now.

If everything had changed beyond recognition, he could survive that.

He had Valmere.

He had his own life.

He did not need Ashford in order to live.

And if Marian was still somewhere within the Empire—

If she was free to choose—

Then perhaps there was another possibility.

One he had never allowed himself to consider before.

He could bring her here.

He could offer her a life far away from everything that had happened.

Far away from whatever remained of the old conflict.

He could give her a home.

The thought was almost absurd.

He had no idea whether she would want it.

He did not even know whether she was still waiting for him.

But for the first time, he had somewhere to take her.

Somewhere that was his.

Carlo looked toward the darkened window.

He had spent years thinking that returning home meant reclaiming what had been taken from him.

Now he wondered whether home was something simpler.

Perhaps he only needed to find Marian.

Everything else could be decided afterward.

A quiet determination settled over him.

Tomorrow, he would speak to the King.

Not about titles.

Not about land.

Not about rewards.

About the promise Lorenz had made years ago.

And, this time, Carlo would finally tell him who he really was.

The truth could no longer wait.

Neither could Marian.

--

Tbc

AN: finally! Ughhh i’ve been dying to get to this point. Thankfully it didnt take that long.